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Timezone Prime

PST to CST converter

Convert Pacific Time (PST/PDT) to Central Time (CST/CDT), with daylight saving applied for the exact date you pick.

From

Tue, Oct 27

To

Tue, Oct 27 Same day

PDT 9 to 5 CDT 9 to 5

From zone
Pacific Daylight Time
Offset and clock
UTC−7 Daylight saving time
IANA name
America/Los_Angeles
To zone
Central Daylight Time
Offset and clock
UTC−5 Daylight saving time
IANA name
America/Chicago

CDT is 2 hours ahead of PDT.

Time difference
CDT is 2 hours ahead of PDT for most of the year (238 days in 2026). The gap is 3 hours for 0 days in 2026. The gap is 1 hour for 0 days in 2026.
Meeting window
Working days of 9 AM to 5 PM overlap from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM PDT, which is 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM CDT while PDT and CDT apply.
Daylight saving
Both zones change their clocks, on the dates listed below, so the gap can shift during the year.

The same conversion works for every city on these clocks, such as California to Chicago, California to Texas and Los Angeles to Chicago.

Where PST and CST apply

Shaded areas follow the official zone boundaries, so a country split across zones is split here too. Hover or tap a region for its local time.

  • Pacific Time
  • Central Time
  • Same UTC offset right now, different zone rules

Drag to pan. Ctrl and scroll, or pinch, to zoom. Boundaries: timezone-boundary-builder, © OpenStreetMap contributors

Hour by hour

Every hour of Tuesday, October 27, 2026, side by side. Days with a clock change show 23 or 25 rows.

Shaded rows fall inside working hours in both places.

Hourly comparison of the two time zones. Choose a time to load it in the converter.
Los Angeles (PDT) Chicago (CDT) Working hours
12:00 AM 2:00 AM
1:00 AM 3:00 AM
2:00 AM 4:00 AM
3:00 AM 5:00 AM
4:00 AM 6:00 AM
5:00 AM 7:00 AM
6:00 AM 8:00 AM
7:00 AM 9:00 AM
8:00 AM 10:00 AM
9:00 AM 11:00 AM Both working
10:00 AM 12:00 PM Both working
11:00 AM 1:00 PM Both working
12:00 PM 2:00 PM Both working
1:00 PM 3:00 PM Both working
2:00 PM 4:00 PM Both working
3:00 PM 5:00 PM
4:00 PM 6:00 PM
5:00 PM 7:00 PM
6:00 PM 8:00 PM
7:00 PM 9:00 PM
8:00 PM 10:00 PM
9:00 PM 11:00 PM
10:00 PM 12:00 AM next day
11:00 PM 1:00 AM next day

PST to CST conversion table

Every hour of the Pacific Time day, plus the common half hours, and their CST equivalents. The second column covers the part of the year when the clocks are on a different gap.

PST to CST conversion table
Pacific Time CDT or CST 2 h ahead, all year CDT 3 h ahead, 0 days in 2026
12:00 AM 2:00 AM3:00 AM
1:00 AM 3:00 AM4:00 AM
2:00 AM 4:00 AM5:00 AM
3:00 AM 5:00 AM6:00 AM
4:00 AM 6:00 AM7:00 AM
5:00 AM 7:00 AM8:00 AM
6:00 AM 8:00 AM9:00 AM
7:00 AM 9:00 AM10:00 AM
8:00 AM 10:00 AM11:00 AM
9:00 AM 11:00 AM12:00 PM
9:30 AM 11:30 AM12:30 PM
10:00 AM 12:00 PM1:00 PM
10:30 AM 12:30 PM1:30 PM
11:00 AM 1:00 PM2:00 PM
11:30 AM 1:30 PM2:30 PM
12:00 PM 2:00 PM3:00 PM
12:30 PM 2:30 PM3:30 PM
1:00 PM 3:00 PM4:00 PM
1:30 PM 3:30 PM4:30 PM
2:00 PM 4:00 PM5:00 PM
2:30 PM 4:30 PM5:30 PM
3:00 PM 5:00 PM6:00 PM
3:30 PM 5:30 PM6:30 PM
4:00 PM 6:00 PM7:00 PM
4:30 PM 6:30 PM7:30 PM
5:00 PM 7:00 PM8:00 PM
5:30 PM 7:30 PM8:30 PM
6:00 PM 8:00 PM9:00 PM
7:00 PM 9:00 PM10:00 PM
8:00 PM 10:00 PM11:00 PM
9:00 PM 11:00 PM12:00 AM (next day)
10:00 PM 12:00 AM (next day)1:00 AM (next day)
11:00 PM 1:00 AM (next day)2:00 AM (next day)

How the gap changes in 2026 and 2027

Each row is a stretch of days with one constant difference, split at every clock change.

Time difference periods between PST and CST
Dates PST CST Difference
Thu, Jan 1, 2026 until Sun, Mar 8, 2026 PST CST CST 2 h ahead
Sun, Mar 8, 2026 until Sun, Mar 8, 2026 PST CDT CDT 3 h ahead
Sun, Mar 8, 2026 until Sun, Nov 1, 2026 PDT CDT CDT 2 h ahead
Sun, Nov 1, 2026 until Sun, Nov 1, 2026 PDT CST CST 1 h ahead
Sun, Nov 1, 2026 until Sun, Mar 14, 2027 PST CST CST 2 h ahead
Sun, Mar 14, 2027 until Sun, Mar 14, 2027 PST CDT CDT 3 h ahead
Sun, Mar 14, 2027 until Sun, Nov 7, 2027 PDT CDT CDT 2 h ahead
Sun, Nov 7, 2027 until Sun, Nov 7, 2027 PDT CST CST 1 h ahead
Sun, Nov 7, 2027 until Sat, Jan 1, 2028 PST CST CST 2 h ahead

Upcoming clock changes

  1. Central Time Sunday, November 1, 2026: at 2:00 AM clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 AM
  2. Pacific Time Sunday, November 1, 2026: at 2:00 AM clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 AM
  3. Central Time Sunday, March 14, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 AM
  4. Pacific Time Sunday, March 14, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 AM
  5. Central Time Sunday, November 7, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 AM
  6. Pacific Time Sunday, November 7, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 AM
  7. Central Time Sunday, March 12, 2028: at 2:00 AM clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 AM
  8. Pacific Time Sunday, March 12, 2028: at 2:00 AM clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 AM

About the two zones

Pacific Time (PST / PDT)

Pacific Time follows the clock in Los Angeles: Pacific Standard Time (PST, UTC−8) in winter and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, UTC−7) during US daylight saving time.

IANA zone
America/Los_Angeles
Offset
UTC−8 standard, UTC−7 daylight saving
Used in
the US West Coast and British Columbia
Major cities
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Portland

PST is often used loosely for Pacific Time all year. In summer the correct abbreviation is PDT; the converter uses whichever applies on your date.

Central Time (CST / CDT)

Central Time follows the clock in Chicago: Central Standard Time (CST, UTC−6) in winter and Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−5) during US daylight saving time.

IANA zone
America/Chicago
Offset
UTC−6 standard, UTC−5 daylight saving
Used in
the central United States and parts of Canada
Major cities
Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Winnipeg, New Orleans

CST is also used for China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time. Here CST means US Central Time (America/Chicago).

PST and CST, answered

What is the time difference between PST and CST?

CDT is 2 hours ahead of PDT for most of the year (238 days in 2026). The gap is 3 hours for 0 days in 2026. The gap is 1 hour for 0 days in 2026.

How do I work out the time in Chicago from PST?

Chicago uses Central Time. CDT is 2 hours ahead of PDT for most of the year (238 days in 2026). The gap is 3 hours for 0 days in 2026. The gap is 1 hour for 0 days in 2026. Type any PST time into the PST to CST converter to see the Chicago time for any date.

What is 9:00 AM PST in CST?

9:00 AM PDT or PST is 11:00 AM CDT or CST for all year. 9:00 AM PST is 12:00 PM CDT for 0 days in 2026.

What is 12:00 PM PST in CST?

12:00 PM PDT or PST is 2:00 PM CDT or CST for all year. 12:00 PM PST is 3:00 PM CDT for 0 days in 2026.

What is 10:00 AM PST in CST?

10:00 AM PDT or PST is 12:00 PM CDT or CST for all year. 10:00 AM PST is 1:00 PM CDT for 0 days in 2026.

What is 5:00 PM PST in CST?

5:00 PM PDT or PST is 7:00 PM CDT or CST for all year. 5:00 PM PST is 8:00 PM CDT for 0 days in 2026.

Is CST ahead of PST, and by how many hours?

Yes. CDT is 2 hours ahead of PDT for most of the year (238 days in 2026). The gap is 3 hours for 0 days in 2026. The gap is 1 hour for 0 days in 2026.

What is a good meeting time for PST and CST?

Working days of 9 AM to 5 PM overlap from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM PDT, which is 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM CDT while PDT and CDT apply.

Does daylight saving time affect PST to CST?

Both zones change their clocks, on their own dates, so the gap can shift during the year. The next change is on Sunday, November 1, 2026 in Central Time.

Which PST does the PST to CST converter use?

PST is often used loosely for Pacific Time all year. In summer the correct abbreviation is PDT; the converter uses whichever applies on your date.

Which CST does the PST to CST converter use?

CST is also used for China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time. Here CST means US Central Time (America/Chicago).

Related conversions

From Pacific Time

To Central Time